THE BACHELORETTE: The Final Four

A virgin, a guy who “likes” controversial and seemingly right wing Instagram posts, an insecure hottie, and the seemingly to-good-to-be-true nice guy are all in the running for Becca’s heart after the smoke cleared on Monday night’s installment of The Bachelorette!

After the awful trip to Richmond, Virginia as the backdrop for her dates, this week saw Becca take her men to the Bahamas – and for this week’s twist – the roses will be given out on the dates with the recipients becoming the final four, and moving on to the all important “hometowns” were we meet the ‘fam!’

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The first one-on-one date goes to Colton, which upsets Blake greatly. After Becca (the make out bandit) takes the man she acknowledges is the hunk of the group out on a boat for their date, she says “He could just pick me up and do whatever he wants to do.” Next, out of nowhere, comes a guy on to their boat, with some conch! It’s known as the “Bahamian Viagra”, and as Colton and Becca eat some of this worm-like aphrodisiac, what Becca doesn’t know is that getting her guy, Colton all sexed up, doesn’t mean he is going to have sex with her! Why? Because he is a virgin. And in the moment ‘we have all been waiting for the whole episode’, during their after-date “dinner”, Colton confesses to Becca: “I haven’t had that many girlfriends, that many dates, because of sports, because of that, I still am … I am a virgin.”

Becca is clearly taken aback at first and says, “Really?” What’s a girl to do next? She hightails it out of the scene with Colton saying she needs a moment, while he sweats it out that this in the end of the line for him. Things take a positive turn when Becca returns to the table and Colton tells her, he isn’t waiting for marriage, he’s just waiting for “the right heart.” Becca gives him a rose, and when he shows back up in the hotel where the other suitors await, they are visibly pissed off that the “virgin” was not tossed out of the competition.

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The next one-on-one date goes to Garrett, and leaves Blake still fuming, and on edge. Becca takes Garrett flying around the Bahamas. They then make out in the ocean. Garrett, who is always up and fun with Becca, tells her he rarely lets things get him down. When pressed over dinner about what went wrong in his relationship with is ex-wife, he later tells Becca the thing we think she has been waiting to hear: “Everything that I see in you is, like, everything that I’m looking for in a wife, and I’m beginning to fall in love with you.” Becca is over the moon.

Next, Blake gets the last one-on-one date card ending his misery. Leaving Leo-Wills-Jason for the three-on-one date, and you kinda knew what would happen there. For Blake’s date, he goes to a “impromptu” Baha Men’s concert, where he proceeds to show off his dance prowess – he’s got the moves. Later alone on the beach with Becca, Blake admits his “freak out” of not getting a date card. Becca answers with: “In a way, I do sympathize with Arie, because I couldn’t understand how you could feel so strongly for multiple people. I see how difficult it probably was for him at the end.” That doesn’t make Blake feel too good to hear her say that!

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When it’s time for his ‘vulnerable’ moment, while at their dinner date, he talks about his rough upbringing with his parents, who are divorced, and how his mother was actually having an affair and fell in love with his former basketball coach/English teacher, while married to his dad. Blake tells Becca he is in love with her! She is all smiles. Later in her own confessional, Becca admits she is love with Blake, too.

Now the agonizing three-on-one date: Leo is given the boot, then an upset Wills is next, leaving, of course, Jason who gets the final rose.

So there you have your final four: Jason, Colton, Garrett, and Blake. Who will it be? The promo for next week looks like trouble ahead for Colton and Becca, featuring the return of Tia! Share your pick on who you think Becca will choose via the comment section below.

Any of us who has watched their loved one slip further away from Alzheimer’s disease could relate to exactly what Sonny Corinthos (Mauice Benard) was feeling on Tuesday’s episode of General Hospital.

It is always a tough and horrific decision when families contemplate what to do with (in this case) a parent, and where is the best place for them to live out the remainder of their days. Sometimes, it’s clear cut and easy, and sometimes it’s difficult.

In the case of Mike Corbin (Max Gail), Sonny and Carly (Laura Wright) gave him a home and safe place to be, but as the disease progressed and as Mike’s reality becomes his own, and has he has been losing more self-control. it becomes apparent that they need to be able to give him the best life they can now.

In story, Griffin (Matt Cohen) points this out to Sonny and Carly when they discuss the progression of the disease on Mike. It is apparent that Mike wants to go live with, and be with his “girlfriend’ Yvonne at Turning Woods. Sonny and Carly struggle to come to term with that fact, but know they must let him go. It is tough for them to put Mike permanently at the care facility. Sonny thinks he may have been too selfish by keeping Mike with them so long. Ultimately, he arranges a room for his father at the facility.

Mike comes downstairs after packing his bags, and thanks them for taking him in. Hey says, that they are nice people, but that Yvonne is waiting for him, so he is moving in with her. Sonny tells his dad, he has a room at the Corinthos’ home any time he wants it.

In the most touching moment, Carly offers to drive Mike to get to Yvonne faster. He really appreciates it, and Sonny decides to just let Carly do this alone, because it would be too difficult on him to watch his father check-in and have to leave him behind.

Before he heads out, Mike forgets his gloves and he goes upstairs to look for them. Sonny decides to check Mike’s suitcase to see if they are in there, and begins to break down. He sees the framed photo of himself and his father from the Nurses’ Ball last year, and packs it in Mike’s suitcase. After Carly drives off with Mike, Sonny begins to cry.

We have to give kudos to Maurice Benard in these scenes. Anyone who has been witness to watching a parent go through this most dreadful disease, could feel his pain. It was a heartbreaking and raw performance.

So, what did you think of the scenes where Sonny must let his father leave his home and move into the care facility? Share your thoughts via the comment section below. And in case you missed some of the scenes, check them out here.

GENERAL HOSPITAL: A Killer Can’t See & Maxie and Nina Visit Nathan’s Grave

January 24, 2019

On Wednesday’s episode of General Hospital, a now blind Ryan is freaking out, because as he is in the hospital (while Finn tries to figure out if the same virus that caused Anna’s temporary blindness caused his), he learns that Lulu is in surgery and still fighting for her life. If she lives, she will name him as the culprit who stabbed her.

When Anna and Finn visit “Kevin”, Anna asks him if he ever worked for the WSB or DVX. “Kevin” claims he did not. Anna believes all of this is the handy work of a doctor who worked for the international spy rings. Finn asks if “Kevin” had been in contact with something that wasn’t his recently, and it is then Ryan flashes to Lulu’s license, realizing he needs to find it and its in his coat pocket.

“Kevin” gets rid of Ava from his room, and attempts to get out of bed to get to his coat and locate Lulu’s driver’s license. However, since he cannot see, the license goes under the hospital bed, and just as he is trying to grab it, Ava walks back in the room.

Meanwhile at GH. Jordan explains to Laura that the police found a bloody footprint going in the opposite direction from Lulu. Valentin and Nina tell Charlotte that Lulu is in the hospital, and the little girl insists they go to her now. Charlotte leaves with Valentin, Nina stays behind.

Elsewhere, Jason is underground trapped in some kind of built out setting to probably nefarious crimes. When Sam goes for help, the fire department shows up. Sam calls her pal Spinelli! She asks him to check the maps of pipes and tunnels under the city. Spinelli reveals that the water system leads out to the harbor at Pier 55. Jason also finds a small space that he is hoping to swim through to get to the other side of the pier.

Then, in touching scenes, Maxie goes to Nathan’s gravesite and reveals to her beloved late husband that she is getting closer to his brother, Peter. She also admits she is scared to start a relationship with him. She asks for a sign from Nathan if it is OK. As she cries, Peter shows up with a handkerchief to wipe Maxie’s tears. She admits she doesn’t know how to let go of Nathan and move on. Peter assures her that Nathan will let her know when it’s time.

Later, Nina shows up and tells the duo about Lulu. They had to GH where Peter is then in question for the crime; being the last person they can substantiate that spoke to Lulu before she was stabbed. Jordan also reveals to Laura that Lulu’s license is missing from her belongings.

Back at Nathan’s grave, a grieving sister, Nina, shares heartfelt moments with her late brother, missing him, and filling him on the latest in her life and Maxie’s. One again, Michelle Stafford delivered in these scenes.

Finn shows up with results for “Kevin”. He tells him the tests shows he has the same virus as Anna and he will need surgery to correct his sudden loss of his eyesight. Finn also tells “Kevin” this good news: Lulu made it through surgery and will make a full recovery. Ryan is in trouble and he knows it.

At the end of the episode as Sam makes it over to Pier 55, she spots Jason’s body in the water and jumps in to save him. We fade to black.

Now, check out the emotional scenes performed by Kirsten Storms and Michelle Stafford below. Then, let us know, do you think Maxie and Peter should move forward with their relationship? How can Ryan get out of the predicament he finds himself in now? Will Lulu come to and identify “Kevin” as her assailant ? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

THIS IS US Delivers Stunning Episode As The Big Three Meet Their Uncle Nick

January 23, 2019

If you caught Tuesday night’s episode of This Is Us, you saw television drama at its best, and one of the best installments of this heart-tugging series, doing what it does best – intertwining past and present day storytelling, and revealing a shocking truth that will have a ripple effect for the Big Three and Rebecca.

The episode was a beautifully scripted hour of TV called, “Songbird Road Part 1”. The title refers to the address of where the very much alive Nick (brother of Jack) is living 166 miles outside of Pittsburgh.

In the past, we see Jack receiving postcards from his brother under the alias “Clark Kent” or “C. K.” and reaching out to him over an extended period of time, trying to reconnect. Jack hides all of the postcards. When one of them shows up at his home mailbox, and it reads “Last one”, Jack decides to take a Saturday trip to see his brother, and lies to Rebecca as to where he is headed.

In the present day, the Big Three set out on a road trip to find their Uncle Nick, now that Kevin’s journey to Vietnam and back has revealed that Jack lied to everyone – telling them that his younger brother died, when he is actually alive. Seeking the truth and to locate him, Randall, Kevin and at first a reluctant Kate, set out to the address on the postcard Kevin has. Rebecca does not want to go, obviously, struggling with the fact that Jack never let on during their marriage that his brother was alive.

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As the parallel trips unfold (in the past and the present), the Big Three arrive at Nick’s trailer and are stunned. When they knock, there is no one there, but shortly after that a now older Nick (played by Griffin Dunne) arrives with booze in his hand, The Pearsons tell them they are Jack’s children, but they also let them know that Jack is dead.

Now inside the trailer, Kevin broaches the subject of Jack and the war, asking Nick why Jack told his family that he was dead. Nick gets upset and tells them to leave, but Kate refuses to do so, and demands to know what happened.

We go back in time to Vietnam, and to Nick sleeping on the beach and befriending a young Vietnamese boy, who turns out to be the son of the woman that Jack cared about while in the war. Nick recounts what we have already seen; that there was an explosion on the lake and Jack dives into the water. But, there was more to the story. What actually happened was the young boy and Nick go fishing and Nick’s method of getting the fish to catch is to throw a grenade into the water and wait for the fish to float to the surface.

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Things go horribly awry when Nick hoists a second grenade. It’s at that point the boy tries to grab it and Nick tries to get it from him. B ut, in the scuffle, the grenade ends up on the floor of the boat, Nick screams for the boy to get off the boat, but he sadly doesn’t understand English. Nick quickly dives into the water, but the boy is killed.

In the present, Nick tells the Big Three that he never got the chance to tell Jack that it was an accident. Jack must have believed that based on Nick’s anti-Vietnamese attitude that he set out to kill the boy. After the story is told, Nick asks how Jack died, and Randall tells him that he saved all of them from a fire and died from smoke inhalation shortly thereafter. Nick is overcome and tells them all to leave.

In the past, when Jack shows up to tell Nicky (Michael Angarano) to stop writing to him, he refuses to let Nicky talk about what happened in Vietnam. It is a very emotional moment for the two of them as Nicky wanted to tell Jack what happened. Jack makes the decision to leave his Vietnam past and brother behind, compartmentalize it, and take one direction in his life to not look back. We see Jack at a crossroads. He can turn right to Pittsburgh to be with his family, or turn left to Bradford to help his brother. He chooses Pittsburgh.

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Now in the heartbreaking ending, after their visit to Nick, the Big Three stop at the same convenience store that Jack did all those years ago, (before he left his brother behind for good) to get some snacks. It’s in that moment that Kevin decides to turn the car around and go back to Nick, refusing to leave him alone like his father did. When they return, Nick is mumbling with a gun by his side, contemplating suicide, saying he never go to tell Jack that the explosion was an accident. Randall takes the gun. Kevin puts his hand on Nick’s shoulder. We fade to black,

Kudos to the performances of Griffin Dunne, Michael Angarano, Justin Hartley and Milo Ventimigilia who made this episode soar.

So, what did you think of the episode? Will Nick be integrated into the Pearsons present day life? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.